Editing Sleepless in Seattle (section)

=== Filming ===
Although Seattle had always been the film's main setting, the filmmakers only realized how significant the location was upon seeing it for themselves.<ref name=":8" /> Arch was inspired to have Sam live in a [[houseboat]] after watching a Seattle-based episode of ''[[This Old House]]'' that featured host [[Bob Vila]] visiting a similar home.<ref name=":44" /> Ephron initially believed that during the 1990s young Americans prioritized [[Work–life interface|their careers over their personal lives]].<ref name=":0" /> However, upon visiting Seattle, she discovered it as a city where "people have chosen lifestyle over work", and decided to set the film there.<ref name=":0" /> Ephron explained that this is one of the reasons why Sam moves to Seattle from the work-focused Chicago.<ref name=":1" /> Vancouver, British Columbia, which film studios typically use as an affordable Seattle stand-in, was briefly considered an option, but Foster ultimately found the Canadian city to be less diverse than Seattle, hardly distinguishable from other large cities and too Canadian-looking.<ref name=":8" /> Principal photography began in July 1992.<ref name=":7" /> Once she submitted the final draft in March 1992, Ephron described the film's filming schedule as almost instant, recalling that they were scouting locations in June and filming by August that same year.<ref name=":9" /> The film had a production budget of $25 million, with ''The Seattle Times'' reporting that the studio spent approximately $4 million on Seattle-based labor, hotels, meals and local vendors.<ref name=":8" /> Foster explained that they decided to primarily use resources local to save money on necessities such as crew, import labor and airfare.<ref name=":8" /> Specific Seattle landmarks featured in the film include the [[Pike Place Market]], the [[Sorrento Hotel]], [[Alki Beach Park|Alki Beach]], the [[Fremont Bridge (Seattle)|Fremont Bridge]], [[Seatac Airport|SeaTac Airport]], the [[Dahlia Lounge]], and several [[1st Avenue (Seattle)|1st Avenue]] shops.<ref name=":8" />

The filmmakers could not find a warehouse large enough to house one set; therefore, much of the film was shot on the [[Naval Station Puget Sound|Sand Point Naval Base]].<ref name=":8" /> Due to the lack of sound stages in Seattle at the time, the filmmakers sought to use the base as it was about to be shut down, but received little response from the federal bureaucracy until Ephron herself contacted Republican senator [[John Warner]], a former Secretary of the Navy.<ref name=":3" /> At times sets and parts of props were shipped between Seattle to Baltimore to ensure sets remained consistent,<ref name=":0" /> particularly a door that both Ryan's and Hanks' characters use in separate scenes.<ref name=":1" /> Ephron ensured the same door was used to demonstrate the connection between the characters,<ref name=":2" /> working with editor Robert M. Reitano to connect their stories via visual parallels, since otherwise the characters hardly share screen time.<ref name=":34" /> Because Seattle was experiencing a drought while filming, the filmmakers imported water trucks to simulate the rain scenes.<ref name=":2" /> The city was reportedly angry about what they perceived as a waste of water.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":6" /> In addition to Seattle, scenes were shot in Chicago, Illinois; Baltimore, Maryland; and New York City.<ref name=":7" /> Ironically, Foster deemed a house located on Queen Anne Hill "Baltimore enough" to serve as the Baltimore-based home of Annie's parents.<ref name=":8" /> Ephron intended for the opening shot of the [[Chicago skyline]] at Maggie Baldwin's funeral to evoke artist [[Saul Steinberg]]'s 1976 ''[[The New Yorker]]'' cover ''[[View of the World from 9th Avenue]]''.<ref name=":6" /> A set designer reportedly found working with Ephron so difficult that they begged to be fired from the film.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tanabe |first=Karin |author-link=Karin Tanabe |date=August 25, 2017 |title='I'll Have What She's Having' explores Ephron's rom-com trifecta |work=[[The Houston Chronicle]] |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/books/article/I-ll-Have-What-She-s-Having-explores-Ephron-s-11959853.php |access-date=March 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828230839/https://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/books/article/I-ll-Have-What-She-s-Having-explores-Ephron-s-11959853.php |archive-date=August 28, 2017}}</ref>

The studio was initially denied permission to shoot some of the film's final scenes at the Empire State Building,<ref name=":2" /> whose management refused to close the observation deck to tourists to allow filming.<ref name=":5" /> Ephron strongly believed that "you are two phone-calls away from anyone".<ref name=":16" /> Ephron knew the publicist who was representing building owner [[Leona Helmsley]], who was in prison for [[tax evasion]] at the time.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=King |first=Susan |date=June 25, 2018 |title='Sleepless in Seattle' at 25: Inside the Making of Nora Ephron, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan's Classic Rom-Com |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |url=https://variety.com/2018/film/news/sleepless-in-seattle-25th-anniversary-meg-ryan-tom-hanks-1202851688/ |access-date=March 14, 2022}}</ref><ref name=":5" /> After discussing the matter with her publicist who visited her in jail,<ref name=":16" /> Helmsley granted them permission to use the building for only six hours.<ref name=":2" /> This allowed them to film the helicopter shot, Annie's lobby scene, and Jonah searching the observation deck for Annie.<ref name=":3" /> The observatory of the Empire State Building on which Sam and Annie finally meet during the film's climax was actually a replica built in Hangar 27 of the Sand Point Naval Base, instead of New York City.<ref name=":8" /> The building was digitally lit for the film.<ref name=":44" /> Ryan was physically uncomfortable while running towards the Empire State Building in order to meet Sam because her shoes were ill-fitting.<ref name=":33">{{Cite news |last=Dawn |first=Randee |date=December 5, 2018 |title=Meg Ryan reveals why she loved working with Tom Hanks on 'Sleepless in Seattle' |work=[[Today (American TV program)|Today]] |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/meg-ryan-reveals-why-she-loved-working-tom-hanks-sleepless-t144279 |access-date=March 17, 2022}}</ref>

The film's costumes were designed by Judy Ruskin, who designed most of Ryan's wardrobe.<ref name=":62">{{Cite news |last=Goodwin |first=Betty |date=June 25, 1993 |title=Simple Clothes, Complex Hairdos |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-06-25-vw-7107-story.html |access-date=April 1, 2022}}</ref> Ruskin was careful to dress Ryan in modest, loose-fitting clothes to demonstrate Annie's "pure heart", as per Ephron's direction.<ref name=":62" /> Ephron hired [[Sven Nykvist]] as the film's cinematographer, as she was instructed to recruit "the world's best cinematographer".<ref name=":59" /> According to Ephron, he was typically able to light scenes in as little as six minutes.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Chris |date=September 21, 2006 |title=Sven Nykvist, 83; Cinematographer Won Oscars for Work With Bergman |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-sep-21-me-nykvist21-story.html |access-date=March 31, 2022}}</ref> Ephron and production designer Jeffrey Townsend deliberately limited the use of the color red during the first hour of ''Sleepless in Seattle''. The color appears more frequently after Sam and Annie first pass each other at the airport in Seattle, and a soccer team wearing red uniforms spills into the crowd between them.<ref name=":22" /> Red gradually becomes more common throughout the rest of the film, representing the "passion shared by the pair as they finally meet and fall in love".<ref name=":22" /> The filmmakers also avoided using blue, a color Ephron particularly dislikes.<ref name=":22" /> Arch was surprised to find that certain shots matched what he had envisioned when writing the film, including the use of shooting stars in the title sequence.<ref name=":44" />